“What you feed your mind, will lead your life.” Demi Sogunle
In a society where we are constantly surrounded by media and advertising, we should choose very carefully what we insert in our daily life. Some research on the matter shows that this is a very urgent topic at the moment, especially for parents. Kids start tapping on a screen before they are even able to speak and they use youtube from breakfast time to bedtime. And even we adults use a buffet of devices as extensions of our bodies. With an incredibly growing average of 9 hours per day in the Usa, digital media is the biggest issue to limit.
However, while it is quite common to speak and read about a more conscious media diet, we don’t pay too much attention to our intake of other purpose-driven messages. What about considering the marketing diet?
As we wait for the bus, we walk to work, we shop at the supermarket, we are unconsciously exposed to a lot of persuasive messages. The latest album of a famous singer, a glamour perfume recently released, the perfect body of a model wearing sexy underwear, a well known comedy at the local theatre, a new exhibition at the museum, the special offer on a new ice-cream, a dream holiday location.
Marketing permeates every facet of our lives. Companies try to convince us to buy their products and services. Nonprofit organizations try to promote their causes and encourage donations. Political organizations try to motivate people to vote for their candidates. They all want us to change our mindset and do something.
This exposure has been going on for so long that we don’t even feel it as a threat. We know from media studies such as the Uses and Gratification Theory that we don’t take everything that we receive, we are active interpreters rather than passive consumers, and most of our decisions are made with low involvement (Krugman). But what is the impact that those persuasive inputs have on our brains? What if we start to selectively compose our daily intake of messages?
Like at a happy hour buffet, it would be nice to be able to choose what we want to eat and what we can leave. There will always be the temptation to fill our plate with much more food than we need, but with time and practice we have the chance to learn how to handle it.
As we know from neurological studies and from centuries of oriental tradition, our mind can shape our thoughts and our actions. Most importantly, it can be shaped by our surroundings. People, ideas, places, messages. By changing the nourishment that we give to our brain, we can change our attitude for the better. Starting with words.
Words can shape our mindset and our life. So why not using marketing tools to target our future selves with empowering messages? It can be a simple wish for a good day, a positive thinking affirmation or something focused on a specific goal. It would be great to see people wearing t-shirts and clothes with happy phrases, advertisement panels in the streets with confidence-boosting words, songs that make everyone feel good, objects speaking about an easy, relaxed and confident life. It’s called Subliminal Self-Help.
How does it work? Keys in the process of persuasion are emotions, repetition and association. For example, let’s say we want to start a running routine. We could start with a few motivational post-it stickers waiting for us in the morning as we wake up, reminding us the happy feeling that we have after a run. We can schedule a reminder on our calendar about our daily run. Listen to the same music that we usually listen while we go for a jog. Speak to our friends and family as if this routine was already established. Act like we are runners. If processed every day, these simple tricks will help us to do what we want. Our mind is surprisingly powerful, let’s start pitching ourselves.
“It’s all about reprogramming our minds to focus more on what brings us joy.” Alaric Hutchinson, Living Peace
